Editing Taproot (section)

{{Short description|Dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally}}
{{About|the plant root system|other uses}}
[[File:Root Systems.svg|thumb|The two types of root systems in plants. The fibrous-root system (A) is characterized by many roots with similar sizes. In contrast, plants that use the taproot system (B) grow a main root, with smaller roots branching off. The letters indicate where the root systems begin.]]

A '''taproot''' is a large, central, and dominant [[root]] from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/mg/manual/botany.htm|title=Botany Manual|publisher=[[Ohio State University]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040806065528/http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/mg/manual/botany.htm|archive-date=2004-08-06}}</ref> In some plants, such as the [[carrot]], the taproot is a [[storage organ]] so well developed that it has been cultivated as a vegetable.

The '''taproot system''' contrasts with the adventitious- or [[fibrous-root system]] of plants with many branched roots, but many plants that grow a taproot during [[germination]] go on to develop branching root structures, although some that rely on the main root for storage may retain the dominant taproot for centuries—for example, ''[[Welwitschia]]''.